White Lie
by Blurby
Summary: Harm fibs a little to avoid flying with Meredith, but the lie soon veers out of control.
1. Friday

**White Lie**

A/N - Takes place beginning/mid-season 8. Reaction to Meredith harassing Harm for the flying lessons, and how he'd try to weasel out of 'em. I am going to throw in a bit of romance here and there.

* * *

_Friday..._

"If anything in this world is horrible, that was it," he exclaimed as he threw his hands up in the air. "I swear to God. I respect the Admiral and Meredith more than anyone could imagine, but the woman just didn't get it!"

"She stepped on the rudder?" Mac arched and eyebrow and took a demure sip of her tonic water through the straw, trying to hold back a smile. "Even I didn't do that."

"Mac, you got were borderline unconscious one time, nearly puked on the back of my helmet the other, but you were still a better flying partner than her," Harm smiled, "and I don't say that too often."

"I appreciate it," she murmured as she slid off the barstool and dipped forward graciously as she suppressed a snort. "I'll be right back."

She turned around without waiting for a response and left in the direction of the restroom. He sighed and folded his arms over the bar. His mind drifted to the mishap in Afghanistan, and its aftermath.

As much as he had hated to admit it, being with Bud in the new house was awkward. Harm had tried to strike up some conversation with Harriet, in hope that his friend would join in, but he failed to emit that joviality that characterized him so well. Despite Harriet's tireless efforts to involve Bud with the guests, it would end up being just him and Mac, sharing surreptitious, quick glances at one another of mixed embarrassment and doubt. What would they do, to help Bud, if he wasn't allowed back?

"Hey, you ok?" Mac brushed her fingers across his shoulder boards tentatively from behind. "Lost you for a minute."

"Fine," Harm sighed. He glanced to the nearest table, where a young woman, no older than twenty-five, shot him a shy smile. She took a long, shuddering drag of her cigarette, which had been worn down to a mere nub, and crushed it into the small ashtray that sat in the middle of the table. He averted his eyes. "Want to carpool over to Bud and Harriet's this weekend?"

She nodded, but furrowed her brow. "Their house is nice." She sat down beside him again and pushed her empty glass back slightly. "Harriet has good taste."

"I think Bud likes it too," he replied. "He's improving." He knew Mac would catch his hesitancy. After all, she always had before.

"What's wrong, Harm?" she asked as she fingered the Marine Corps ring on her finger idly.

"I don't know," he admitted. "You know I feel this overwhelming sense of happiness that Bud's alright. I know he'll recover – I've never met a more persistent, determined or steadfast man, but…"

"He didn't deserve it," Mac finished. "People like Bud shouldn't get hurt like that. People with four year old sons, loving wives, people as nice as Bud."

He nodded. "Jesus, if it'd been me…"

"Don't say that," Mac swallowed hard, "don't be stupid."

"If it were me," he continued, "a lot less people would've suffered from loss. Bud has more to live for, we both know that."

"You act as if no one cares about you," she snapped, "_that's_ being stupid."

"Really?" He pulled out a few dollar bills from his wallet and threw them on the polished oak surface in front of him. "If I were even half as lucky as he is, I'd have a family."

"You've had more than enough opportunities," Mac said. "Like Renée, she was just waiting for you. If you'd just made a move, you would have had a band around your finger."

"And six months later, it'd have been off – _along_ with half my stuff," he laughed. "I'm talking about finding someone like Harriet."

She slapped his arm quickly. "She's taken, Harm."

He shot her a pointed look and got off the stool in a huff. "You know what I mean."

"I know," Mac sighed and followed him.

They went to the coat rack in silence. He pulled her jacket from the top hook and held it out to her. She draped it over her arm and nodded out towards the exit, and he went obediently.

"He'll make it," she said, "and if he needs a little nudge or two, he's got two of his friends advocating for him. The best and second best attorneys at JAG."

"Mac, you're not _second_," he said with a twinkle in his eye, "…third at most."

"Oh yeah?" she arched a brow as they walked down the street to their parked cars. "I take it back then. The best and most annoying JAGs will be helping Bud out. _You're_ the most annoying by the way."

He put his hands up in mock surrender. "I had no idea."

"Taking Meredith up again next weekend?"

"I think so…" he sighed, losing his joviality. "Unless something _really_ big pops up."

Chegwidden would probably find a tactful way to nudge him into the flying lessons again. It wouldn't be an order, because that would step over his lines as a superior officer. However, it wouldn't be a total open-ended question either, because _then_ Harm could just say 'no'. It would be worded in such a way that he would feel bad about weaseling out of doing the Admiral a favor.

"Like what?"

He let his hands drop down and sighed greatly. "Like…having a near-fatal car accident, or me getting the Ebola virus or-"

"I get it." She jabbed him with her elbow and rolled her eyes. "Say you have plans, if he brings it up again."

"Plans?"

"Oh, I don't know, with a _person_ maybe?"

"Sergei is gone, Mac. I have no one else," he said sharply. The veracity behind the words stung, and he hung his head down in bitter disappointment.

"Make up a woman," she said as if was the simplest thing in the world. "I'm sure the Admiral would approve of you getting out of the office once in a while."

Harm slowed his pace notably. The car was still quite a ways off, since the block had been considerably busy after they had headed out after work. He was in no hurry to end the conversation. "Oh yeah? What would her name be?"

"Doctor Elizabeth…Vandelay," she laughed.

"You mean like Art Vandelay? Mac, I'm not going to be dating someone named after a _Seinfeld_ character."

She continued without skipping a beat. "…and she could be a neurosurgeon or neurological specialist. That's a very interesting field." He arched an eyebrow and she smiled at his dubious reaction. "Need to dumb it down, a bit, eh? Why not an accountant."

Harm needed a successful woman, someone to challenge him and stack up to his aviator ego. Even if an initial glance at Renée screamed _bimbo_, Mac did eventually realize the woman had an air of intelligence about her. To herself, Mac changed that notion. Rather than outright intelligence, Renée had 'feminine wiles'; just the thing that Harm seemed so enraptured by.

"Boring," he yawned theatrically, covering his hand over his mouth and all. "Need more excitement."

"Clothing designer?" He stuck out his tongue at her, whether in disgust or amusement, she didn't know. It was a gesture that he really wouldn't show to anyone but her. "What's wrong with clothing designer?"

"Shallow. Too shallow," Harm muttered as he shook his head fervently.

She brought her hand to her chin and studied the cracks on the pavement as they walked on. "Business executive."

Harm tilted his head and sharply inhaled a breath. "On TV they always seem like such harpies, yammering on their cell phones day and night, all that."

"You don't own a TV," she pointed out.

"Well," he frowned at her visibly, even in the dim light, "I don't live under a rock, you know."

He certainly was being choosy. "Fine, how about," she thought for a moment, "another lawyer."

He crossed his arms and stopped. They had reached the car, but his expression bid her to continue. "You know the movie, Adam's Rib? I recall one character saying something about why lawyers should never marry other lawyers."

"Why's that?" She was embarrassed to feel her heart fall slightly, but recognized that familiar underlying raillery in his voice.

"Idiot children who become _more_ lawyers. I think many people see us as the scum of the earth," he said with a laugh. "But continue, I'm interested in Ms. Vandelay."

"She'd be very good at what she does," Mac said and leaned against the hood of his Lexus, "and a hard worker, that Liz Vandelay. Not _that_ scummy, if you ask me."

"What type of law is she into?" For a reason unknown, he had suddenly become immersed in this little game. It was stupid, childish even, but he indulged.

Mac peered at the light overhead. "What type of law would you like?"

"I don't know," he decided after a moment and traced his foot around the manhole on the ground. "Surprise me."

"Corporate for _all_ the big D.C. companies," Mac said, "and she's 5 foot 9, drop dead gorgeous blonde, and leggy, just like you like em'. It'd be like she had a big label stamped on her forehead – 'Harmon Rabb's dream woman'."

"I'm not some gawking teenager," he muttered.

"Alright," she drawled and shrugged coolly.

Harm nodded, ignored Mac's comment, and watched her as she tapped her foot on the ground steadily to some unheard tune. He came and half-leaned, half-sat against the hood with her. "So, if the Admiral asks me to take Ms. Cavanaugh out in _Sarah_ again, I just say 'Unfortunately, Sir, I have plans with a charming woman, Ms. Elizabeth Vandelay. She's actually a _lawyer_, small world, huh?' and that'd be the end of it?"

"Exactly," Mac smiled and gave his thigh an affirming pat. "Now, you're getting it. And if it doesn't work, it's a money back guarantee."

"I didn't spend any money-" he began.

"You're buying me a pizza," she interrupted as she slid off the car and started towards the passenger side. "All this advice isn't free you know, _and_ I'm giving you a discount."

He elicited a low chuckle and went to his own seat, revved up the engine, and started towards the nearest pizza place. Going out with Sarah Mackenzie as payback for _anything_ was generally a win-win situation.

* * *

TBC 


	2. Monday

_Monday..._

"Commander!" came Chegwidden's voice over the lull of the mundane office noises. "Bring the Colonel with you to my office."

"Yessir," Harm said. He went to knock on Mac's door when he noticed the lights were off; she hadn't arrived yet. As he started towards Chegwidden's office, he eyed her come in with a huff as she smoothed her hair back and shrugged off her overcoat.

"Mac!" he called to her and jogged back. "Admiral's office."

She went to her office without a word and he followed. She managed to retrieve her makeup mirror from her purse and glanced at it. "I had half-an-hour to shower, get changed, have breakfast _and_ drive to work," she said as she adjusted her eye makeup with a shaky finger; it had smudged visibly as she ran out of her apartment earlier that day. "I didn't get to move at a leisurely pace like you this morning."

"What held you up?"

"Late night," she said as they shot across the bullpen, "I had to finalize a report and stayed up past 0100. Wasn't pretty."

Within, the two officers snapped to attention and shared a look of skepticism as Chegwidden eyed them with a trenchant expression.

"At ease, both of you," he said as he handed Mac two files. "DUI for you, DDO for the Commander. And, a Petty Officer Taylor is pressing charges against her CO, on the basis of sexual assault. Colonel will prosecute, and you'll defend Commander. Dismissed."

Both officers spun around and started out when Chegwidden stopped them. "Actually, I…" he eyed Mac and started to wave her out when he decided against it. "Meredith still hasn't heard back regarding the flying lessons, Commander."

"I was meaning to get back to her," Harm started and coughed nervously upon seeing Mac's knowing smile, "but I have plans this weekend…unfortunately," he added as an afterthought.

"Commander," the Admiral replied incredulously, "you can't hang around the office on the _weekend_ too."

"Actually, I'm driving out of town with someone," Harm sputtered out. "Elizabeth Vandelay."

He did not understand why he thought it best to attach a name, when the previous statement would have sufficed, but it was too late to take back anyway. He felt a pang of guilt for fibbing to the Admiral, but it washed away as he remembered what the alternatives were: crash landing in the middle of Farmer John's wheat field in Blacksburg.

He saw Mac bounce slightly upon hearing the name, and caught her grinning. Chegwidden failed to notice and put down his spectacles with a nod. "Dismissed Colonel."

"Aye aye, Sir," she said shakily, fighting to keep the laughter out of her voice.

Chegwidden continued, and Harm squirmed in his spot slightly, like a child being caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Isn't that General Sean Vandelay's niece? He and I met way back in Vietnam. I actually went over to his house for dinner last week."

"Oh, it's probably common name, Sir," Harm lied. _What the hell was that?_ he thought to himself. "Elizabeth's a lawyer, actually."

"Works for that firm, uh, Barlow & Timms, in D.C., right? That's her, Commander. I'm surprised she didn't tell you about her Uncle," Chegwidden smiled amicably and signed a file on his desk distractedly. "She's quite a girl, very polite and pretty too," he winked.

Chegwidden usually made it a point not to meddle in the personal lives of his people, and Harm was having trouble understanding why this was an exception. "That's Liz, Sir," Harm said with a distracted nod, soaking in Chegwidden's insinuating gesture. "If you'll excuse me, I have quite a caseload to be working on."

"Dismissed," he frowned, breaking the sudden sense of ease in the mood. "Finish that DDO ASAP."

"Aye aye, Sir!" Harm sighed and dashed out before the Admiral could get another word in. As he rushed past the yeoman desk, Mac jumped out of the corner and had a quiet fit of laughter. Tiner shot a puzzled look at them before heading out of the office to run the Admiral's errands.

"Mac! Vandelay is the name of some woman the Admiral knows," he hissed and pushed her out towards his office. "You and your stupid names."

"Wow," she smiled, "what are the odds?"

"Slim to none. _And_ she works for some firm in Washington. What if she talks to him or something?" he snapped and closed the office door behind him before crossing his arms expectantly.

Her eyes went wide but she put her hands up in defense. "You're in a pretty big mess," she said, "but it's not my fault. I didn't expect you to actually _use_ that name. It was just a joke."

"Did you know there's a General Sean Vandelay in the armed forces, apparently a close acquaintance to Chegwidden?" he sighed and flopped down in his chair as he combed his fingers through his hair.

"What, his daughter is Elizabeth?"

"Niece," he spat. "That's the last time I take your advice, Colonel."

Mac backed out of the office slowly, keeping the unnerving 'click' of her heels as silent as possible. "I'll see you in court later, right?"

He opened his mouth to reply but saw she had already reached her own office and shut the door assertively. Ms. Vandelay and he would be heading out, it wasn't a big deal. Things wouldn't work out and he would break up with her. Then he'd never hear from her again. Yes, that would be the way to go, Harm thought to himself with a sly smile.

* * *

TBC


	3. Tuesday

_Tuesday..._

Harm poured a generous amount of creamer into his mug and whistled slightly. If he just casually mentioned to the Admiral that he and Elizabeth just 'weren't meant to be', it would be done. No one would be the wiser. He would simply have to do this next Monday morning, after the 'trip', and the Admiral would never bring it up again, in fear of opening old wounds.

"What're you so happy about?"

The idiotic grin that sat on Harm's face broke instantly and he cleared his throat as Sturgis stared at him with an arched brow. He busied himself by wiping away at a bit of the coffee that had dripped on the counter with the white paper towel, and watched as the small brown drops of liquid stained the material.

"Nothing," he replied a bit too quickly.

"Could it be that new woman?" Sturgis smiled crookedly and pried the creamer from Harm's hands. "It's been a while for you, buddy. I was afraid you were getting rusty."

"What?" he snorted. "First of all, I would _never_ get rusty, and about her-" He would hold his friend to the highest secrecy, he decided. It would do no harm.

Chegwidden marched into the break room and reached over the fridge to the cupboard with a gruff, "At ease," in their direction. He paid no specific attention to either man, and Sturgis continued watched him expectantly.

"Elizabeth Vandelay?" he prompted with a nudge in Harm's side. The submariner sounded so dead serious about the ridiculous name that Harm had the urge to laugh.

Harm's face fell and he glanced at Chegwidden, who was taking the utmost care in bringing out a slice of bread from the loaf. He dipped a knife into the large plastic jar of peanut butter and smeared it over the slice painstakingly. Then, he smoothly overlapped it with another layer. He seemed to be moving in slow motion and gave no signal that he was leaving anytime soon.

His arms fell to his sides and he conceded with a long, drawn out sigh. "Yes, I cannot wait until our next date. Our last one was a week ago," he recited with robotic precision before taking a long, drunken swig of his coffee and leaving his cup on the countertop.

"Where'd you go?"

Harm could not _believe_ the persistence that Sturgis showed. "Dinner at…_The Lotus_. You happy?"

"Go get 'em," his friend laughed without picking up the frostiness behind Harm's words.

"Who told you about her?" Harm asked finally.

Chegwidden chose that precise moment to leave the room as he took a bite of his sandwich hungrily, not caring to maintain that pristine Navy Seal exterior in front of the two men.

"Mac, after court. Says you're quite taken with her," Sturgis said as he peered at Harm over his mug, "in fact I'd say she's jealous. She was _very_ reluctant to tell me Elizabeth's name. I mean, you both haven't been involved in a while, and since you're taking that first step…"

"I'm sure she was," Harm snapped and left the room in a huff in the direction of Mac's office. He nearly ran into Harriet, but whizzed around her in a flurry of frustration and anger. He didn't bother to knock on the door, and blew in breathlessly.

"Come on in," Mac sighed as she propped her head up on her open palm. He decided if she wanted to, she could kick his ass right then and there. This was _not_ a good idea.

He closed the door behind him carefully and shut the blinds. "Why'd you tell Sturgis about Elizabeth Vandelay?"

"We were talking about your predicament with Meredith, and it just slipped. I said 'Well, he won't have to worry about it anymore, he's got a woman now'. He asked for her name and everything, and seemed so eager." She got up and met him at the door as she crossed his arms. "So I just told him what you had planned out, but never had a chance to tell him it was all a…carefully planned out ruse. Anyway, we don't want two contradicting stories in the office scuttlebutt."

"No, we don't," he said with a sigh. "Just do me a favor and _avoid_ any further questions regarding my date with Ms. Vandelay this weekend, regardless of who asks you."

"Will do," she said with a hasty salute in his direction. "I'm sorry about convoluting everything further."

"I'm not satisfied." He thought back to their conversation in front of the car and decided that at least _some_ good would come from the mess. "You owe me my money back."

"Oh?" Mac said as she put her hands on her hips expectantly, just as he anticipated she would.

"I know this great veggie place. Even _you_ might convert from the dark side after tasting their butter fried tofu with teriyaki sauce," Harm said.

Mac scrunched her face up slightly at the thought and waved him off. "Fine. But I highly doubt this is worth it. When?"

"Tonight," he smiled and slipped out of the door. "Thank you."

* * *

TBC


	4. Wednesday

_Wednesday..._

"Could I speak to you for a moment, please?" Sturgis pulled him into the break room. Harm decided it wasn't really the most covert area within all of JAG. "I saw you last night."

"Where?" Harm said as he crossed his arms.

"At _The Lotus_, Harm," he replied bluntly, "while I walked by on the street."

Harm rolled his eyes and exhaled a breath, knowing that the submariner would preach to him about the enigmatic relationship with Mac. "Look, Sturgis, it was just-"

"I hardly think any way to treat Elizabeth! Now, Mac's is your close friend, but at the same place you went with Elizabeth last week? Have some tact, Harm. I never thought _you'd_ two-time a woman."

Now, _that_ he was not expecting. He pulled at his jacket distractedly and kept his gaze fixed on the floor. "It was platonic."

"She was hardly dressed for a working dinner," Sturgis murmured.

"If I went out with you _and _Mac that night, would it bother Elizabeth?"

"I guess not-"

"So, there," he finished and blew past his friend. He turned around and puffed up his chest slightly as he said for good measure, "Besides, Liz and I are keeping it open." _That is it_, he decided, _I am officially insane_. Why in the name of God would he indulge in this stupid charade?

Sturgis shook his head and chuckled quietly. "Sorry, I shouldn't have meddled, but I'm just tired of seeing you screw things up, especially after how much Mac told me you liked that girl."

"Thanks," Harm replied sarcastically and left without another word.

In the bullpen, an ecstatic looking Alan Mattoni pulled him aside. "Harm, haven't had the chance to talk to you in a while."

"I'm a bit busy right now," Harm started, eyeing his office with desperation. "Could you come back some time later?"

The wide grin on Mattoni's face fell slightly, and Harm felt a pang of guilt. "It'll just take a minute. The wife and I are having a little get-together next Friday, dinner, wine and all that."

"So?" Harm snapped, knowing he sounded far too rude.

Mattoni arched a brow and put his hands up in surrender. "I thought you'd like to come. You can bring Liz with you too. The more the merrier?"

"Liz?" Harm said, losing his footing for a moment.

"Yeah," he said slowly, "weren't you seeing someone named Liz? Colonel Mackenzie may have misinformed me."

"Mac told you?" Harm frowned. She would be taking him out to the _Ritz_ if that was true. "I think Liz may be busy that day. But, I'll be there," he said quickly and dismissed himself before Mattoni could put another word in.

Mac was still in court, so admonishing her would be out of the question for now, he decided as he made quick strides across the vast expanse between him and the other side of the bullpen. Before he could retreat to the safety of his office, Harriet buzzed behind him and handed him a file. He took it with a small grunt of reply before her voice stopped him again. "Sir," she started hesitantly.

If it had _anything_ to do with one Elizabeth Vandelay, he'd scream and rip his hair out. "Yes?" he forced out shakily with a smile.

"I hear you're seeing someone," she smiled and arched an eyebrow suggestively. "Good for you, Commander. What's her name?"

_Damnit. _

Did the JAG office have nothing better to do? Were there not actual legal matters to tend to? Did _nothing_ take priority over his non-existent personal life?

Tiner came up behind them and crossed his arms confidently. "Elizabeth Vandelay, Ma'am. I met her myself about a year ago when the Admiral and General Vandelay were meeting for lunch, she's _very_ nice," he said as he bounced visibly on his heels in that naïve way of his.

"Petty Officer?" Harm glared forcefully and the young man took a step back.

"Admiral's office, Commander," Tiner stuttered and scurried away in the direction he came. Harm trudged away indignantly, leaving a wake of uncertainty behind him as he did so.

* * *

TBC (sorry for the relatively short chapter...next one's longer, I promise. Thanks for all of the reviews) 


	5. Thursday

_Thursday..._

Harm hung his head after the hard defeat to Mac in court. The occupants emptied out gradually, but he didn't budge from behind his desk and sighed; the noise was audible even to Mac who stood putting her files away in her briefcase more than three meters away.

"You okay?" she asked uncertainly and put a tentative hand on his shoulder.

"You told Mattoni?"

She sighed and prodded him in the shoulder. "Hey, in my defense, this was _before_ you warned be about avoiding all the Vandelay related questions, and it was completely unintentional."

He shot a dubious look in her direction and went to arranging his files neatly in front of him.

"When I told Sturgis, Alan was co-counsel, he overheard. I swear, Harm, I would've corrected the assumption if I'd known better," she continued, "but other than those two, my lips are sealed. Sorry."

"It's ok," he said, "he would've found out anyway. It's not like he'll use the information against me maliciously."

"Oh, Commander Mattoni can be _unbelievably_ devious behind closed doors," Mac smiled.

He got up with a start and frowned grimly. "Just today and tomorrow, then I won't have to deal with Elizabeth for the whole weekend."

"I don't think she'd appreciate that," she laughed and pulled him bodily from the room towards the bullpen. "Come on."

She let go of his arm as he finally started to move himself. She caught sight of a distantly familiar person enter from the halls. He spotted them and broke into a slow jog towards them, finally settling to slap Harm on the back.

He snapped up to meet a grinning face. "Hey!" he snapped.

"Harm," laughed Jack Keeter as he eyed Mac insinuatingly, "Colonel Mackenzie."

She smiled and inched towards her office with a small wave. "I'll leave you boys alone."

"How are you?" Harm grinned, letting his grim façade melt away, and pushed him to his own office. "It's been so long."

Finally, a break from Liz Vandelay and the annoyances of the workplace gossip. Keeter was a breath of fresh air.

"Let's go out to lunch," Keeter said as he glanced at the clock. "Tell you _all_ about it."

* * *

Harm jogged back into the office beside Keeter, in fear of taking far too long a break from work. He headed towards the safety of his office, and spotted Chegwidden standing beside the photocopier within earshot.

"I need to leave now, Harm. Have a dentist appointment in twenty. I was late for my last two, and the hygienist said if I did it again, she'd pull out my wisdom teeth, sans anesthetic," Keeter sighed as he took a long look at his watch. "But I need to ask you something." Keeter took a step back, eager to get out the door and on the road to the dentist, "Two tickets, Ravens versus Steelers."

Harm's mouth gaped open, and he saw Chegwidden's back straighten in the corner of his eye. "That sounds great!"

"Sunday, you and me, Harm," Keeter said with a lopsided grin. He took another step towards the door and raised his eyebrows.

"I…" Harm began. He hissed in a breath, wracking his brain for a way to covertly say yes to Keeter. "I've already made plans with someone," he said, which clearly meant 'no, sorry buddy'. However, Harm also nodded at the same time, hoping that Keeter would notice and follow him into the office.

Chegwidden relaxed visibly but Keeter shook his head fervently. "Re-schedule," he said simply.

"I can't. It's not like a dinner reservation or anything, it's…away," Harm sighed.

He knew he looked like an utter fool; he continued with the affirming nods of his head, which became increasingly forceful and eager, and tipped his head urgently towards the office door every once in a while. After ensuring Chegwidden was not looking his way, Harm quickly jerked him thumb to the office, and his eyes went wide as Keeter continued with his journey out the JAG door.

"Suit yourself," Keeter shrugged, clearly not getting the message, "I'll call you later, and maybe we can catch a beer." He dashed out and left without another word.

Harm tried to inch into his office and call Keeter's cell phone to re-accept the generous invitation, when Tiner came up behind him. "Commander Turner wants to meet you, Sir. Conferencing for the Joseph case?"

He squeezed his eyes shut. "I almost forgot." He squared his shoulders and trudged off.

* * *

Two Hours Later…

"Hey," Harm said into his telephone quietly, scared slightly that Chegwidden would blow into his office and hear the covert conversation. "Is that second ticket still available?" _Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes_, buzzed the mantra in his head.

He heard Keeter click his tongue on the other line. "Sorry, I already offered it over to my flight buddy, Harm. What happened to your plans?"

"Never mind," Harm said through clenched teeth as he shook his head. "I'll…see you around."

"Bye," Keeter replied. An audible click was heard as the line terminated, and Harm buried his face in his hands with a drawn out sigh.

Liz Vandelay was costing him more than he ever thought possible. If he simply had not fabricated the story, he could have been at a NFL game, thereby enjoying the weekend, getting a break from work _and_ avoiding Meredith Cavanaugh.

Lying was bad.

* * *

TBC (My intention was definetely not to make Mac appear like the villain. I hope this cleared up her intent.)


End file.
